Research Expenditures from External Sponsors Tops $179 Million in FY 2005

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- This past fiscal year, University of Missouri-Columbia research expenditures - money spent on research - grew by 10 percent to more than $179 million, the largest number ever recorded at MU. The University also ranked in the top 15 institutions in the nation in the amount of awards for life sciences from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The MU Department of Biochemistry also is ranked eighth in the nation for biochemistry research grant money received by public medical schools.

"This upward trend is due chiefly to funders' increasing recognition of the energy and expertise of faculty investigators who, thanks to a multi-year program of constructing and upgrading facilities, are now taking full advantage of MU's world-class research infrastructure," Chancellor Brady Deaton said.

"Many of the most promising innovations will likely emerge from the life sciences, where investigations into human health, food production and environmental science are already improving the lives of millions," said Jim Coleman, vice provost for research at MU. "However, life sciences researchers have not cornered the market on MU's scientific success stories."

Some examples of recent awards and research projects on the MU campus include:

$5 million from the National Science Foundation to Gabor Forgacs, professor of biological physics, to fund research into unanswered questions in biological sciences using innovative approaches.

$2 million from the National Science Foundation to Douglas Grouws, professor of mathematics education, to fund a program designed to help scholars find better ways of teaching math.

"Our researchers share a common passion for discovery, a sense that creativity and innovation are the engines of human progress," Coleman said. "Our researchers' commitment to scientific excellence ensures that in the next fiscal year, and for years to come, MU will further advance its place among the world's most vital institutions of higher learning."